On IMDb

 
  Official Site

   Wow.  That is what i found myself saying in my head over and over again as i watched this movie.  It was so incredibly intense that i almost couldn't believe that it could even be done.  I mean normally something that was as violent as this movie wouldn't be able to be as serious with as much depth and meaning as this film.  But that is just what this movie excels at, depth and meaning. 

   The friend that i saw it with came out of this film saying that it was a cross between A Clockwork Orange and Snatch.  This really isn't too bad of an assessment i think.  I mean this movie lacked a lot of the wit and humour that Snatch had, but it had the atmosphere and the danger and the twisted sense of reality from A Clockwork Orange was all over the place. 

   This movie takes place in London.  Most of it consists of a flashback by Malcolm MacDowell as recounts his climb from henchman to the most powerful and dangerous man in London.  His life is at a crux because the crime boss that he took over for is getting out of jail soon.  Paul Bettany, as the young MacDowell does a commanding job and is also completely believable as a younger self. 

   There wasn't all that much to the dialogue of this movie, what there was was ok.  The direction was good but the cinematography seemed to wander into a rather odd range of cheesy art effects every now and again.  

   This movie is still a bit of an enigma for me however.  I walked out thinking that i didn't know if i enjoyed it.  Everything i say about it about is true, but, at the same time, i don't' know if i derived from it what i would want from a movie.  Interesting it certainly is, enjoyable, i am not so sure.  don't go see it if you don't like violence with lots of gore.  I have given this movie a half-limpid.

  
On IMDb

 
 Official Site

  So yes, this movie is unique, i have never seen anything quite like it.  I would have to say that over all, i did like this film.  I was amused through most of it, and if you can appreciate a satire on the Mafia, then you will like it too.  

  There was something about it that i had a little bit of trouble appreciating.  Forest.  I don't think that there was much about his performance that i did like.  I just couldn't accept the fact that he was playing someone who was ultra spiritual.  it just didn't come through for me.  I didn't get menacing, i didn't get deep, i didn't get anything that he was trying to portray. Hell, i couldn't even get mysterious.  Shame that. 

Other than this draw back, ignoring it, i had a lot of fun watching this movie.  It was meant to be fun, even when it was meant to be serious.  It was kind of dynamic that way.  Confusing and interesting all at the same time. 

Not an action flick.  don't go expecting that.

An amusing time was had by all.  I give this film a half-limpid.

  
On IMDb

 
  Official Site

   Ever want to be a psychic?  Ever want to be able to see what is going to happen to you or to other people?  Still harbouring fantasies like that?  Well this movie, if you go and see it will soon cure you of that.  There is nothing about her gift that makes us want to be her.  Or have her gift. In fact there isn't that much about her life that would want you to drop into it for that matter.  
   This was a very intense movie, every second gauged to make you either make you care about what was going on or shriek in fear and clutch the arms of your chair.  I found that i was clutching more than i was caring, sure, but they were trying.  

   Cate Blanchet pulls down an amazing performance in this.  She captivates you every second of her presence on the screen.  She does.  I am sure part of it is her skill at acting, you know. But she just has this thing about her that makes you need to watch it.  Another person who pulls down a good performance in this is Giovanni Ribisi.  He plays a disturbed young individual and while he is out there it is believable and not so over the top as you might be warned against.  
   Shock of the movie?  Keanu Reeves plays a wife beater racist and he plays it well.  You can totally buy that he is one of them.

   So what do we have, we have a well crafted picture, put together in a way that will certainly keep you on the edge of your seat.  Rather commendable performances were also given by all the actors in this movie except for Katie Holmes' who was a little wooden and pointless (Hilary Swank scares the willikers out of me by the way, when she plays a female).  So what is missing?  Well, i found the story weak, and predictable and not particularly enjoyable.  And this is important.  It really is.  

   Put this all together and what do you get?  Well a movie that i have rated as half-limpid  that's what.  Enjoy it. 

  
On IMDb

 
 Official Site

I found it to be poorly written and filled with historical anachronisms.  Almost every time that i found this movie achieving a climax i found that it was arriving at it at an odd time for the movie, i also was completely unsatisfied as each little climax fizzled, one after the other.  I would just like to say that if i ever have to take over an empire i want to be presented to the emperor from my place as a slave on the first day that i arrive in the capital.

All that said...the fight scenes in this movie are really, really cool.  If you can overlook that the battle is being won with a cavalry with stirrups and long bows the scene is a fun one to watch.  The gladiator battles are fun to watch, surreal, and unrealistic, but who really cares about that?  The computer generated tigers are frankly amazing.

So much of this movie is worth watching to see the stuff. You know the computer generated Rome, the scenery, the fighting.  I say, if you like gladiator movies go and see it, if you like scantily clad men running around in skirts, watch this movie. I say if you were looking for a well made epic, you'd be better off looking to Austin Powers than this film.  I have given it a half-tepid because of the fighting mostly.  

 
On IMDb

  
Official Site

   That said, this movie is total cheese, total tongue in cheek fun.  If you are going expecting seriousness of any form, go home.  This is a big lizard suit who saves Tokyo from an evil space race who wants Earth for their very own.  In fact, i think when they were dubbing this movie they made extra sure that that the sounds wouldn't match the images very well at all.

   My friend and i had a lot of fun watching this movie.  But in the end, you just can't really give it a rating above tepid because pretty much everything about it, really is laughable. But it was fun, it really was, great fun.   

 
On IMDb

  
 Official Site

Now...down to the meat.  Why would you go see this movie?  Is it really worth it for me?  Do you like cars? Do you like car chases?  If yes, then yes, certainly, except for one really silly bit, the cars are cool (and i am not a big car fan) and so are the car chases.  Will the drama keep you on the edge of your seat?  Well, likely not.  But the action will, and so will the story, even if it is simple, sometimes simple just works. 

The actors in this film actually did a fair to good job i thought.  I really like Nicholas Cage normally, i don't really know why, so, i was already friendly predisposed, but, i think he did a good job in this.  Although somehow car thievery pretension wandered in now and again.  i didn't know there could even be such a thing.  The other characters, also fun, and amusing and good. It is not like anyone's dog died or anything to make it emotional and therefore a tough act.  Although...i didn't like Giovanni Ribisi's performance much at all.  I don't know that i ever do, but i didn't here very much at all.  Robert Duvall looked the silliest i have ever seen him and Angelina Jolie was really quite sexy. 

In the end what you have is a fast paced, cool car, cool action film filled with amusing characters.  It doesn't really do that much for me in terms of a long term effect.  But it was certainly an interesting diversion for me. I have given it a tepid

 
On IMDb

  
 Official Site

Right, so i went to this with and open mind, no, i went to this with the intent of liking it a lot. I had read some reviews, i thought it sounded rather interesting.  The reviews i had read had basically said that this movie was intelligent and clever and that they had done some ingenious things.  It was dreadfully wrong.  Totally and completely wrong.  

For you see, this movie was not good.  I guess it was not horrible, but i found myself falling asleep, and then when i woke up and told myself to stay away, i realized that i wasn't good enough for the effort, that i should just let myself drop off, i could use the sleep.  It wasn't good enough to keep watching.

What was wrong with it?  The acting, maybe?  The notions? Maybe.  I guess i have long had trouble Shakespeare that is set to modern time, with the old lines. i have long liked Shakespeare set in the proper time and place, but...not like this.  This movie was no exception, they made it boring and silly.  And boring, and silly.  Hamlet was a reclusive geek...i didn't care what happened to him one way or the other.  None of the 'neat' little quirks that they tried to use to shorten and liven the film, worked.  They just....bored me more.

In my opinion the only redeeming factor of this film was Bill Murray as Polonious. i have yet to decide if he did a good job or if he did a laughable job.  it is hard to say, his wooden performance could be either.  Either way, i did enjoy him.

I have given this film a vapid, because you just can't give Shakespeare a fetid no matter what they do to it.

  
On IMDb

 
  Official Site

    Ok it would be unfair to say that i think i have seen this movie before.  Because it totally wouldn't be true.  There was much about it that i had never seen before.  And yet it didn't seem unique, or new, or special in any way.  It felt like it was a part of a dozen movies that i have seen before.  I mean, it continuously tweaked one memory or another.  I mean, i don't ask for uniqueness out of every movie i see.  i see far too many movies for me to possibly expect that each and every one is going to be unique and novel.  But this one, just wasn't unique enough i think, it felt too familiar, there were too many feelings of things that i had already seen or heard.

     This is not to say that this is not a good movie.  Well, ok it is also not to say that it is a good movie but somewhere in the middle is what this movie actually is.  It was an entirely serviceable movie (think they'll quote me on the poster?).  It had a story, it told it, it kept me awake, involved and dare i say, interested.  The acting was well done if not stand-out and there is a screen chemistry between Freeman and Judd that you just can not deny.  Of course this is not the first film they have done together, they had this same chemistry in 'Kiss the Girls,' and it is this same chemistry that made them want to make this movie.

     This movie actually starts even more normally than it ends.  Judd is a high profile attorney and her husband a carpenter, she is about to get a promotion and they are trying to have a baby.  All of a sudden her husband has been arrested by the military is standing trial for the murder of 9 villagers in San Salvador.  Morgan Freeman, the earring wearing, motor bike driving, ex-drunk bad ass is the ex military thorn in their side lawyer who ends up helping her.  

     Don't go to this movie expecting anything new. Don't go to this movie expecting a marvel of entertainment.  But if you are the type of person who still watches NYPD Blue because it's just familiar and comfortable then maybe this movie is for you.   I have given this movie a tepid.

- 
On IMDb

  -
 Official Site

    John Cusack is one of two things in this movie, he is either the man each of us would like to be, or he is the biggest loser in life and love that you can imagine.  It is hard to say which.  

    This is a love story. Or, a what happens to a guy in love when his woman leaves him story.  This movie is funny.  This movie kept me laughing, this movie kept me interested.  This movie kept me on the edge of my seat.  I cared about this guy.  I wondered how he could live his life like this, i could respect and relate to his choices even though i would never make them.  John Cusack made this guy, i guy i have never met, but could meet any second real.

    The side stories of the Record Store made this movie a mastery of wit and wisdom.  I laughed so loud and hard i am sure the guy in front of me had to clean my spit of the back of his head (well, not really - maybe).

    The cameos by big stars were great. I love big stars in bit parts.  Lisa Bonet was in it as a musician, i miss Lisa Bonet.  Tim Robins as a new age lover, Bruce Springsteen as himself.  

Go and see this movie.  I give it a  Turgid. 

 
On IMDb

  
 Official Site

   So, yes, i liked it.  I did.  It wasn't art or anything but i enjoyed watching it. I have given it a tepid and i think that to enjoy it, you have to really realize what it is what they want you to think about as you watch. 

  
On IMDb

 
  Official Site

   There is one thing to be said about this movie, i don't know if anyone can make it look both easier and more amazing that Jet Li.  His fighting skills are unparalleled and this movie displays this to the fullest.  In a step back in time he manages to awe me without the use of any wires, slow motion or Matrix type skills.  This movie highlights the best of this.  Who else could have a fight scene with an entire room of police black belts in the middle of training and still make it look like he could have really beat them all.  In fact he made it look like he did beat them all.  

   This movie takes place in Paris, a good environ for any film.  Jet plays the part of a Chinese police officer come to Paris to help on a case.  In no time at all he finds himself up to his neck (which, if we have to admit the truth, isn't really all that high) in a lot of trouble with the Paris police. 

   I admit that the addition of Bridget Fonda's character in this movie seems strange for any number of reasons. She is sort of there to just keep things going, i guess, but it almost always seems out of place in this movie and forced.  That said, i think she did quite a good job at her implausibly silly character. 

   Make no mistake though, the plot of this film is slim, the characters not well developed and everything but the action scenes seem almost a waste of time.  This is a movie to watch pretty much only if you want to see kung fu action in the streets of Paris.  (You will pardon the B-movie punch line please).  With this in mind, as an action movie, i have given it a half-limpid.

 
On IMDb

  
 Official Site

   Characters were pathetic, even the seemingly supposedly funny anti-losers, who, we were supposed to realize were the real losers in this movie.  But hell, that was obvious from the very first moment to those of us who have known jock twits in the past.  The production values, well i am sure it had some.  Maybe.  Maybe not.

   Story, totally and utterly predictable.  Sigh.  Just not worth the time or effort really.  I have given it a vapid.

 
On IMDb

  
 Official Site

   It will come as no small surprise that i am a sucker for complicated, complex, interesting female characters and Phoebe certainly takes the cake for that description.  A definite loon, she somehow manages to come across as charming and lovable all at the same time.   In fact every role in this film was well played and superbly carried out.  You can't help but see what she finds attractive in the neighbour-boy that she ends up falling for nor can you help but to smile every single time the comic genius to come 12 year old P.J. Crosby comes on-screen.

   The sets, art direction, cinematography and direction in this film were first rate, something i was quite happy to see in a small Canadian film production.  Andrea Dorfman definitely has the knack for making us remember that life is really always a little bit stranger than it appears on most Hollywood screens even as she makes us recall that it is just that which is so special about real life.

   Frankly speaking i found just about everything about this production to be darling.  Perhaps the only thing stopping me from giving it a higher rating would be the very light sweetness of the story.  I have given this film a limpid.

- 
On IMDb

  -
 Official Site

Ok. it is a might sappy. But you know, it is really well done.  There is lots of kid cuteness and yet, Rachel Griffiths (ok, ok, whom i really like i admit it freely) does such a good job that it comes through as movie that is worth it.

There are some funny parts and some parts that were laughed at that i didn't find funny. What is funny about failed suicide anyways?  Stupid audience.

In the end i think this movies i worth it.  It deals well with some midlife crisis issues that can be pretty thought to deal with.  It is also a might smarmy.  You can't always get away with that though.  I give this movie a low half-limpid

  
On IMDb

 
  Official Site

      I was never certain about this movie.  Or rather the only thing i was ever certain about it was that i was quite sure that if i ever saw it i would know then, just as i knew before i had seen it, that it would be bad.  But, being the dedicated reviewer that i am (for future reference, by the way, dedicated reviewer is apparently synonymous with the phrase, movie slut) and having a friend that wanted to see this film, i went out to it.  What a mistake, what a monumental waste of time this was. 

   I can only think of one thing that would be worse than watching this movie and that would be watching it a second time of your own choice.   The characters in this movie were so dumb that you expected them at any time to run as hard as they could into the nearest wall just because they want to see what's on the other side.  The story was very close to the same level of idiocy.  There was just nothing to capture your attention.  Nothing to make you want to stay awake.  Face it, this movie was so bad that there almost wasn't enough for me to want to keep on living.  

   This, this, is the type of thing that could make a person lose all hope for the movie making process.  I mean it is one thing when you go to see a movie that is supposed to be bad, that everyone knows is a 'b' movie.  But when you are going to a movie that, although low budget, is a full release studio picture and it is as bad as this film is, you have no choice but to question whether or not the wonderful world of pictures is sliding down the slope into the La Brea Tar Pits from whence it sprang.

   If you were thinking, 'i don't care how bad the movie is, i just want to go and see it because i like Brad (or Julia, i suppose)' well let me just stop you now before you lose any attraction that you held before you saw this.  It is not that they were ugly in this film, there was just absolutely nothing sexy or interesting in their characters.  In fact i am reasonably certain that the characters were specially written to make these stars unappealing.  At any second we were hoping that they could pull it out of the fire by Brad doing a topless shot so we could see his ever appealing chest.  He did take off his shirt three times in this film, but each and every time, nothing!  Absolutely nothing.

   In the end i found this film to be an exercise in annoyance and tedium. Every minute just another straw on the gigantic pile growing on top of the camel's back. James Gandolfini might have been the one thing making this movie a good thing, only he had the major setback of having to talk to Julia Roberts. This movie, was, to put it simply, pure shit.  I have given it a fetid, do not go and see it.

  
On IMDb

 
  Official Site

  So this movie had every opportunity to turn out to be crap.  Consider it, eve the ads seemed to produce a film that would likely be bad.  As a result one might wonder why i went to it.  I am not sure.  I didn't think it was going to qualify as being a stinker so bad movie friday was out but there was no way i was going to go out and pay full price.   And yet i went to it, i intended from when it came out until i actually went weeks after it's release.  Why?  Why oh why?  I am not sure, perhaps it was just the draw of a Sandra Bullock movie, but you know what that's not that much of a draw.  Who knows, i went.  That is the start of this review.  My having gone.

   What was good about this movie.  It was light, it was moderately funny.  It was kinda new, sort of. At least i have never seen Sandra Bullock as a beer swilling macho FBI agent boefore.  And i don't remember having seen Michael Caine as a gay man before?  Should it matter that it was a stiff poorly acted and stereotyped one?  Ok.  The answer to that is obviously yes.  And yes, there weren't any stellar performances.  No, not even Sandra.  No wait a second, whoever it was who played Hawaii, really did sound like a catty bitch.  Of course i basically assumed they cast her that way. 

   If you hadn't noticed the précis for this movie is a simple one.  Someone is trying to blow up the Miss USA pageant and the FBI find out about it.  They look through all their agents and there is only one that is even remotely attractive enough to go for the contest (I guess this is not the same FBI that Scully is a part of).  So she goes undercover.  Only she isn't a lady so she needs a big makeover.  

   There is nothing about this movie that is remarkable, aside from the fact that it seems to have left me amused and even, perhaps feeling a little warmer at heart.   Not too bad.  I have given this movie a  tepid

- 
On IMDb

  -
 Official Site

Do i have any loyal movie review readers?  Are there any of you out there?  I think that there probably aren't bit if there any of you, i think that i am at risk for losing your respect over this review.  Because i didn't really like this movie and yet every single person that i talk to about this movie did like it. Well, every single person except for the person that i went to the movie with, i am pretty sure that she would give it the same rating, basically because she said she would.

What was wrong with this movie?  What wasn't?  Ok, the acting didn't suck the acting was ok, the stunts were well done, i was rather amazed with the level of dedication that Tom went through to go through with the stunts.

So i should talk about the problems?  First, the dialogue.  The words these characters were just plain ole stupid.  Dumb, ridiculous even.  The story, was simple and kind of boring.  Like it hasn't been done before.  I think that they got it off the back of a box of shreddies. 

No, Mr. Woo.  I have great respect for the work of John Woo, i think that the man is really quite a genious in the way of special effects and fight scenes.  However i just don't think that he took into consideration the fact that all things can go too far.  His effects in almost every instance took one step to far to become unreal, instead of surreal and unbelieivable.  Just kind of silly really.  My movie budy and i were forced to burst into laughter more than once.  

I didn't like this movie, it had a number of problems and thus I give it a vapid.  That is not to say that you won't like it though, i guess.

- 
On IMDb

  -
 Official Site

But it didn't.  It didn't suck.  It was ok.  Don't get me wrong, i am not saying that this was  a good movie.  By no means would i even think about considering saying this, but it was not that bad. 

Mission to Mars is a fictionalized chronicle of the first time humans go to Mars.  Something goes wrong with the first stage and the second stage has to go and rescue it.  Then they encounter evidence of prior life on Mars.  I would appologize here for giving away the surprise ending but they gave that away in the preview.

You know, there was nothing wrong with this movie that some decent writing would not have fixed.  I had not problem with the underlying concepts of the film.  They worked for me. But the characters?  The dialogue?   The events?  Man, where did they come from?  Some cheesy 70's Sci-fi show?  Did they get the original writers form the first Star Trek?  

The effects were quite spectacular, although the super cool sand effects are nothing you have not seen if you went to see The Mummy.  But the space ones are first rate and the sand ones are pretty cool as well.

In the end, a good, but done if you read Sci-fi concept.  A horribly written story and script. Ok acting, but what can you do with poorly written characters.  And marvelous eye candy effects.  

In the end if you like Sci-fi or Tim Robbins, go see it. It will amuse.  I give it a half-tepid.

  
On IMDb

 
  Official Site

The first hour of this movie lasted only 13 minutes, the second almost left you sobbing, the entire thing took your month's supply of adrenalin and emotions and jacked 'em straight into your brain.  I guess you could say that i enjoyed this movie.  In fact i would say that it was pretty much in-freaking-credible.  I am almost at a loss for the level of joy that this movie gave me.  I sat there like a sick puppy with my jaw agape and a smile wrenching itself out of my face. 

   Without a doubt this is a musical.  But it is a musical of a new generation of musicals.  Or an old generation of musicals.  Or a combination of the two.   With a curious mixture of modern songs set to old dances in a modern way your pleasures are two fold.  The songs seem to be chosen by a master, the right words at just the right time.  The editing is amazing, demonstrating a mixture of high speed film, quick perspective changes and motion jumping the likes of which i have never seen before.  If i had been told about the amount of manipulation on our minds and eyes before i saw this i would have thought it could be nothing but annoying.  And in truth, if i had just walked into the theatre from a roller coaster, i might, indeed have suffered from motion sickness.     

   The singing was beyond what i could have expected.  Kidman was good, very good but the huge surprise was Ewan McGregor. I had to go and check the web site to see if he did his own singing because i just couldn't accept on my own judgment that he had done such a good job on his own.  He did, and he was heavenly. 

   The story, like they needed a story, is about love.  And that is truly all you need to know, it was really quite beautiful.  The sets and costumes; i don't know and will likely never know the names of the people that managed to create this fantastical procession of colours and images but they are nothing less than master artists.

   This film moved me.  It forced me to emote and to feel joy and pain.   The visuals during the dance and musical numbers knock your head back, curl your toes and make you howl at the moon.  I have given this film a half-turgid.